Shea is a rockstar. We talked a lot before the race about holding back, not going crazy, finishing strong, etc. I forgot my beeping watch so we didn't do regular walk breaks, but decided to aim for a 5/1 routine. She was pretty good about going easy from the get-go.

Early on a mosquito bite was driving her nuts, so we had to stop to scratch it. I gave her walk breaks at 5 minutes, but she was pretty grumpy and things hurt. Feet hurt, side ache, she's tired, yada yada yada. She was bringing me down a bit and I thought, "Oh lordy, we can't keep this up for 6 miles." I gave her the option of the 5K but she claimed she wanted to hang on for the 10K. I let her be grumpy, hoping she'd turn it around sooner rather than later. Worked on listening and being positive.

We were leap-frogging with her BFF a little bit, but Shea wanted to beat her. I reminded her many of the people out here were only running 5K and to run her own race. Don't worry about beating your friend, just do your own thing. Well, she did end up beating her friend's 5K -- we heard them finishing as we were our 2nd loop.

We started the second loop and Shea felt AWESOME!! We weren't on a regular schedule of walk breaks anymore and were taking them less frequently. She held a good clip (about 9:15) for most of mile 4. Holy smokes!! I told her I think her endorphins were kicking in -- explained what those were and how awesome they are, ha! Unfortunately she had some chafing that started really bugging her (I had her put on body glide before the race but I should have done it to make sure she had enough). That was hurting her more than anything else. We worked on mantras: "You have to feel the burn to experience the shine. Pain is temporary, pride is forever. Smile when it hurts."

She was thirsty and had wished she had taken 2 waters at the stop around 4 miles. We found a water fountain shortly so she stopped for water. We were leap-frogging people and women were soooooo impressed by Shea and sang her praises. Shea was gracious and thanked everyone so sincerely, and thanked me too. Around mile 5 I told her let's not leave anything out here, we can pick it up. So she gradually kept picking it up!! She still asked for and took walk breaks, but when we passed mile 5 I told her let's aim to do only one more walk break. We ended up with a couple (including a water station), but they were pretty short.

Around 5.5 miles I told her we only had about 7 minutes to go and it was time to turn it on. She kept picking it up! Finally she was just ready to go for it, so I turned her loose and watched my Garmin stay around 7:30 pace for the last .5 miles or so. Shea kicked it in like gangbusters -- we didn't even finish together, ha!! She was awesome. Didn't even seem tired at the end. Beyond proud of herself!! Yay, girlfriend!!

More body glide, less chafe!!!

Found our friends, got some food, got our t-shirts, hung out with moms and daughters.


Nothing. Shea was awesome. Next time I'm sure she'll go faster. Today was all about the accomplishment.


So fun!! So proud of my girl!! She's ready to do more races -- wants to go longer. Wondered if they have 20K races?? I assured her they did... Onward!!!

Checking results after the race, Shea was the youngest 10K runner (the only 10-year-old). She is very proud of this fact. Me, I'm thinking now about how I can help her run faster but also keep the ability to finish strong. I need to let her turn loose sooner but also reign it in -- pacing isn't easy for kids! She's ready to do a 20K -- and when this girl sets her mind to something, there's no stopping her!!

One of the photos above is her note that she wrote on the back of her number: "My first 10K. It was kind of hard, but I learned about these things called endorphans (sic), that create positive energy twoard (sic)your mind and body. My favorite part was when I would pass 20-30 adults they would be amazed that I was only 10, but doing the 10K. I was the youngest person to run 6.2 miles of IronGirl. Seriously!! IF IT WAS EASY, EVERYBODY WOULD DO IT!"